| Amy Winehouse and The Pipettes @ Bowery Ballroom |
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| Written by Nicole Steinberg | |
| Friday, 16 March 2007 | |
 Ready for The Pipettes and Amy Winehouse tomorrow night? Is that still happening? Such was the exchange between myself and my friend Pam the day before the much-anticipated "Live From London" Bowery Ballroom show featuring sudden media darling Amy Winehouse and Brighton's living dolls, The Pipettes. Winehouse has been cancelling shows and stirring up gossip as of late, and it was widely speculated that she might bow out of her sold-out Manhattan show. But such was not the case. Not only did Ms. Winehouse make it, but she brought the house down, owning the sardine-packed crowd that had come to support their newfound diva from across the pond. We arrived a bit late for the early opener, Jamie Woon, who looked a bit out of place with his acoustic guitar and feathered mullet. He had a nice enough voice, but didn't manage to impress the crowd, who seemed hungry for the main acts of the evening. We saw three songs, including a cover of "All Is Full of Love" by Bjork (I have to say, I much prefer the original). His final song, "Wayfaring Stranger," was a long one, for which he used one of those electronic devices that records a vocal or sound and plays it back over and over again (KT Tunstall is infamous for using them during her live performances). He did receive a nice round of applause at the end and seemed quite excited to be playing in New York, especially at a show where a huge line of people stood outside, simply waiting for the off-chance of scoring tickets. The audience grew much bigger for The Pipettes, who came bounding out onto the stage about twenty minutes later, backed by the sweater vest-clad Cassettes. They played a much shorter set than the night before at Luna Lounge, but it was still energetic and great fun. It was also Rosay's 21st birthday, but sadly, no one suggested that we all sing the Birthday Song to her. Too bad, since 21 is a landmark birthday; though I'm sure she hadn't had any problems scoring drinks during the days before. We all just felt very old in comparison. The shorter set meant no new songs and fewer b-sides, as the girls mainly stuck to songs from their first LP, We Are The Pipettes, which will finally hit US shores this June. Here's what they played: Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me / Why Did You Stay? / Because It’s Not Love / Hurts to See You Dance So Well / Tell Me What You Want / Guess Who Ran Off With the Milkman? / One Night Stand / Judy / Dirty Mind / Pull Shapes / We Are The Pipettes "Pull Shapes" is so good live that it hurts. The crowd was much more stiff than the one at Luna Lounge, and there was a severe lack of dancing (though no lack of off-key singing, especially in our area). I got the picture when the audience population swelled to enormous proportions after the set, that mostly everyone was there to see Amy Winehouse. I hadn't really known she was so popular over here, though she has had a significant amount of press lately, including TV performances and magazine features in Interview, Blender, and BUST, just to name a few. Ms. Winehouse took her sweet time in getting onto the stage, and when she did, it was to great fanfare. Dressed in polka dots, just like the openers, Amy and her towering hairdo gave us a surprisingly fiery and tight show, backed by the Dap Kings and two fabulous male backup singers/dancers. And though she was drinking, she kept it together, even commenting on her alcohol of choice: "I'm drinking Jack Daniels and lemonade, not beer. Ladies don't drink beer... they chug it." So is it any wonder the press can't get enough of her? With her teased hair and sideshow-esque tattoos, Pam and I commented after the show that she's become somewhat of a put-together mess with the release of her second album, Back To Black. And the world, in its infinite heteropatriarchal wisdom, loves a female put-together mess. But Winehouse crosses the threshold in a way, since she's loved as much as she's gawked at; as I recall, BUST referred to her as their "newest girlcrush." She's brash, she's got sass, and she's not afraid to say what she wants. And though there are lots of women like that in the world, her advantage is in her musical talent and vocal range. Girl can sing, yo. And her music is much, much better live than it can ever hope to be on record. Though Back To Black is a good album, the bluesy, soulful sound of songs such as "You Know I'm No Good" and "Addicted" is meant to be performed live, and meant to be seen and heard that way as well. Plus, at a live show, you get the bonuses of "He Can Only Hold Her" folding into Lauryn Hill's "Doo Wop (That Thing)" and the sudden boom of the crowd singing along to the opening lines of "Rehab," chanting forcefully: No, no, no. She was genuinely chuffed by the support and praise of her audience and made sure to let everyone know just how much it meant to her, proving that a class act can't be shrouded by gobs of eyeliner and hairspray. "Live From London" was great overall, a wonderful sampling of different sounds coming out of the UK: acoustic folk, retro pop, and dirty blues. Unlike many other ultra-hyped NYC shows with hard-to-get tickets, this one was definitely worth it. Amy Winehouse's setlist is below, as well as some photos (Christine got some much nicer ones of her at SXSW, so check those out). Addicted / Just Friends / Cherry / Back to Black / Wake Up Alone / Tears Dry on Their Own / He Can Only Hold Her / Fuck Me Pumps / You Know I’m No Good / Me and Mr. Jones / Rehab // Love is a Losing Game / Valerie
The Pipettes
        Amy Winehouse
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